Jason Kidd is holding back the Mavericks' worst-kept secret and it'll cost them

The Dallas Mavericks are just weeks removed from having lost in the Play-In Tournament and their season having ended, but unlike most seasons, the end of this season was likely a huge relief for the Mavericks. Dallas worked extremely hard to stay on track amidst injuries and the Luka Doncic trade throwing a massive wrench into their season, but their new roster was thrown into an unfair situation, and they deserve a full summer and training camp to get acclimated together.

Players may be taking a little time to recuperate from the season still, but rest assured that offseason workouts will be full tilt for the Mavericks here soon, and many younger players on the roster will be hard at work trying to take strides in different areas of their game. One of these players will certainly be third-year center Dereck Lively II, as the young big man’s sophomore campaign was underwhelming due to injuries, including an ankle stress fracture that Dallas’ training staff initially misdiagnosed.

With Doncic gone, Lively II may genuinely be Dallas’ best young building block, and fans know he’ll be eager as ever to prove himself as one of the top young bigs in the game after last season. One of the biggest ways Lively II can do this is by expanding his game beyond the 3-point line, as he’s been hard at work in practices and training sessions to become consistent with his outside shot through his first two seasons in the league.

Jason Kidd must stop holding Dereck Lively II back before it's too late

While Lively II having teased shooting 3-pointers ahead of training camp last season, he never took them consistently whatsoever in his second season in the league.

Based on Lively II’s interviews this season, as well as how consistent his shot has looked in practice and shootaround, it seems like the decision for him to stay away from the 3-point line is coming from head coach Jason Kidd and the rest of the coaching staff, and not Lively II himself.

Lively II is clearly capable and confident despite being a young player, and given how clogged Dallas’ spacing proved to have gotten sometimes when they played Davis at the four with another center, Kidd needs to finally grant Lively II the leniency to stretch his game beyond the arc next season.

If Lively II can make a 3-pointer within the flow of an offense in an NBA Finals contest, it’s puzzling as to why Dallas hasn’t explored this wrinkle of his game more, as Lively II being able to shoot 3-pointers would open up space for him and the rest of the team immensely.

Just the mere threat of Lively II being able to shoot will cause opposing centers to veer away from the basket more, and given that Lively II flashed a dribble-drive game throughout points last season, this could give him the ability to attack closeouts on occasion based on how athletic he already is. This will pay extreme dividends for Kyrie Irving (once he returns to action) and Anthony Davis in terms of being able to finish at the rim with no rim protector in sight against smaller lineups, and as subtle as this tweak from Kidd would be, he has to make it if Lively II can be as consistent of a 3-point shooter in-game as fans think he can.